WMT - Walmart Inc.
109.66 -0.74 (-0.67%)
After hours: 7:58PM EST
| Previous Close | 113.78 |
| Open | 112.56 |
| Bid | 109.60 x 1000 |
| Ask | 111.24 x 800 |
| Day's Range | 110.35 - 114.07 |
| 52 Week Range | 95.00 - 125.38 |
| Volume | 9,135,035 |
| Avg. Volume | 5,547,406 |
| Market Cap | 313.225B |
| Beta (5Y Monthly) | 0.40 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | 21.27 |
| EPS (TTM) | 5.19 |
| Earnings Date | May 18, 2020 |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | 2.16 (1.90%) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | Mar 18, 2020 |
| 1y Target Est | 128.38 |
- Reuters
Beyond Meat's restaurant, grocery tie-ups more than triple quarterly sales
Beyond Meat Inc said on Thursday it expects full-year sales to grow as much as 71%, after reporting that deals with retailers and restaurants helped to more than triple fourth-quarter sales and substantially narrowed its loss. The El Segundo, California-based company - whose Beyond Burgers and Sausages are driving a global craze for plant-based meat products - struck several high-profile deals last year with fast-food chains including McDonald's Corp and Dunkin' Brands Group Inc. As consumers grow increasingly health-conscious and concerned about the environmental impact of industrial animal farming, the plant-based meat market is expected to expand to $140 billion.
- MarketWatch
Consumer-facing companies will be the first hit if the coronavirus spreads across the U.S.
If the coronavirus that has sickened more than 80,000 people spreads across the U.S. as health officials are warning, consumer-facing companies would be the first to be hit as their customers isolate themselves and avoid public spaces, experts said Wednesday.
- MarketWatch
Walmart creating a membership program called Walmart+
Walmart Inc. confirmed Thursday that it's creating a membership program called Walmart+. The company declined any further detail about the program. However, a Recode report says the program, which could start testing soon, will be a competitor to Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime program, which includes one-day delivery, access to Prime Video, and other perks. Walmart has been making major changes recently to its e-commerce capabilities, folding the Jet.com staff into its e-commerce arm and ending the Jetblack personal shopping service. Walmart stock has gained 14.7% over the last year while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 1.2% over the period.
- TheStreet.com
Walmart Poised to Launch Amazon Prime Competitor Amid Fight for Online Sales
The world's largest brick-and-mortar retailer is gearing up to do a public test run of a new membership service called Walmart+.
- Investing.com
Walmart Stock Falls 3%
Investing.com - Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock fell by 3.02% to trade at $110.35 by 15:59 (20:59 GMT) on Thursday on the NYSE exchange.
- Zacks
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Amazon.com and Walmart
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Amazon.com and Walmart
- Investor's Business Daily
Walmart Expands Amazon Fight With Big Move To Woo Third-Party Sellers
Walmart debuted fulfillment services to attract third-party sellers as the Dow Jones giant steps up its battle with Amazon. Shares rose slightly.
- Business Wire
Walmart to Present at Both the Raymond James Institutional Investors Conference and the UBS Global Consumer and Retail Conference
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) announced today that Brett Biggs, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will participate at the Raymond James 41st Annual Institutional Investors Conference Wednesday, March 4 at 10:25 a.m. EST and the UBS Global Consumer and Retail Conference Thursday, March 5 at 9:45 a.m. EST. Both sessions will be webcast live through the "Events" link at stock.walmart.com. Transcripts of these sessions will be made available and archived on the company’s website.
- Reuters
Walmart in talks with possible buyers for Asda stake
Walmart , the world's largest retailer, is in talks with possible buyers of a stake in its British supermarket Asda, which it failed to combine with Sainsbury's last year. Asda and Walmart said in a joint statement on Wednesday that discussions with "a small number" of suitors followed "inbound interest" but no decisions had been taken. In common with its traditional big four British rivals - market leader Tesco , Sainsbury's and Morrisons - Asda has been losing market share to German-owned discounters Aldi and Lidl, which are still opening lots of new stores.
- Bloomberg
Amazon Merchants Spooked by Coronavirus Fallout Curtail Ad Spending
(Bloomberg) -- Chuck Gregorich, who sells China-made patio furniture on Amazon.com Inc., expects to lose as much as $2 million in sales this year due to factory closings and other coronavirus-related slowdowns. So he’s cutting his ad spending on Amazon and thinking about raising prices to avoid running out of inventory. The sudden shift in sales tactics by merchants like Gregorich threatens Amazon’s fastest-growing and profitable revenue source.“If we’re going to run out, why not run out at full price,” he says. “We have to make sure the sales we have are as profitable as they can be."Amazon merchants spent about 6% less on advertising over the past two weeks than they did a year ago, says Daniel Knijnik, who runs Quartile Digital, a New York firm that helps manage Amazon advertising for 2,300 brands selling goods on the site. Many of them are small outfits forced to react more quickly than big brands selling to the likes of Walmart Inc. and Target Corp., he says, because they lack the inventory stockpiles and alternative suppliers their larger counterparts can draw on.Amazon’s advertising sales are a small piece of overall revenue, but they help the company offset the huge costs of storing and shipping millions of products. In the holiday quarter, what Amazon calls "other" revenue—most of which is advertising—totaled $4.78 billion, up 41% from a year earlier.Like many of its tech industry peers, Amazon started 2020 predicting strong sales growth. Now mounting fears of a pandemic and the related economic fallout has put those rosy projections in question. Amazon’s shares had dipped 5.9% by the Tuesday close and were up less than 1% at midday Wednesday. The falloff in advertising could be a harbinger of worse news to come.Amazon last month forecast sales of $69 billion to $73 billion in the current quarter and has not adjusted that outlook in response to the coronavirus. Apple Inc. warned that it is likely to miss its sales forecast for the current quarter due to the outbreak, which disrupted smartphone production and forced store closings in China. “We are monitoring developments related to COVID-19 and taking appropriate steps as needed,” Amazon said in an email, using the official name for the virus.The company is taking other measures to soften any virus impact for smaller sellers. As previously reported by Business Insider, Amazon on Feb. 7 advised merchants that they could put their accounts in “vacation status” to avoid getting penalized by its algorithms if they suspected items would run out of stock. It also instructed merchants to cancel any customer orders they would not be able to fulfill.“If your performance metrics have been impacted by this event, please include a brief description of how your business was impacted when you respond to the relevant performance notification,” Amazon said in a notice. “We will consider this unforeseen event when we evaluate your account’s recent performance.”More than half of the items sold on Amazon come from independent merchants like Gregorich, who pay the company a commission only when shoppers buy their goods. That puts Amazon in a very different position than traditional retailers when reacting to supply-chain disruptions. Walmart and Target remain in constant contact with their wholesale suppliers about postponing delivery deadlines and finding alternative sources for products to keep shelves stocked. Amazon has those relationships as well, but has less direct contact with smaller merchants.Its marketplace is largely managed by machine, with algorithms deciding in real time which products people see. Prices, consumer feedback, advertising and the speed of delivery all factor into the calculation. Amazon’s algorithms can punish merchants whose products sell out by making it harder for shoppers to find their wares, giving sellers an incentive to protect their inventory until they can replenish it. Cutting ad spending is the easiest lever for them to pull.“We have reduced our ad spend and have identified the stock level where we’ll increase prices to slow down the rate of sale even more,” says Jerry Kavesh, a Seattle merchant who sells cowboy boots and hats on the site.Mark Looram, managing director of GTO Limited, which oversees factory operations in China and the Asia Pacific region for big importers, expects prices for China-made products to shoot up on Amazon more quickly than at competing retailers that have more control. “One of the major differences with Amazon sellers is that they control their pricing and can increase or decrease depending on market conditions,” he says.Price spikes can attract the attention of regulators. In 2017, after back-to-back hurricanes struck Florida and Texas, Amazon fielded complaints of price-gouging on bottled water. In fact, the high price reflected the expense of quickly shipping a heavy case of water across the country when local supplies were depleted. It was an example of how Amazon’s machines, designed to help match supply with demand, lack the judgment of a human touch.So far, there haven’t been reports of virus-related shortages of essentials in the U.S. Instead, merchants are facing delays in replenishing inventory of things like dog treats, wine refrigerators and patio umbrellas. With no clear answers about when China will be back to full production, sellers are trying to stretch out what they have until new supplies roll in. Even with those adjustments, some merchants have already run out of stock.“I have clients in various categories that are getting crushed because of the coronavirus,” says Dan Brownsher, who runs Channel Key, a Las Vegas e-commerce consulting business with more than 50 customers who sell products on Amazon. “What was supposed to ship in February or March now won’t be shipped until April. We have items out of stock that won’t be back until April.”Virus-related disruptions will be most immediate to those selling spring and summer seasonal goods like inflatable pool toys and patio umbrellas, which could push any impact on Amazon into the second quarter.Gregorich might have to hold off introducing a new line of patio furniture until next year. He ordered 14 containers of products from a Chinese factory, which recently refunded his deposit because it can’t complete the order in time. He’s keeping in touch with the factory in case it can make part of the order before the outdoor furniture selling season ends in the summer.“We told the factory to let us know where they are and maybe get a partial order in the summer and still make some sales so we don't miss the whole season,” he says. “We’re going to miss that product this year.”(Updates shares. A previous version of this story was corrected to show that the note Amazon sent to merchants was previously reported by Business Insider.)To contact the author of this story: Spencer Soper in Seattle at ssoper@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Robin Ajello at rajello@bloomberg.net, Andrew PollackFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
Walmart Explores Selling a Stake in U.K. Grocer Asda
(Bloomberg) -- Walmart Inc. is exploring the sale of a stake in its U.K. grocery business Asda amid interest from potential investors, nearly a year after a merger with rival J Sainsbury Plc fell apart, people with knowledge of the matter said.Asda has attracted interest from suitors including private equity firms, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Walmart is working with an adviser and has recently started a formal process for the stake sale, the people said.Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, plans to keep a significant minority holding in the U.K. business after any deal, one of the people said. The companies confirmed in a statement they’re considering whether there’s an opportunity for third-party investment in Asda, alongside Walmart, after receiving approaches.“Together, we are in discussions with a small number of interested parties who share Walmart and Asda’s commitment and passion to growing the business,” the two companies said in an emailed statement in response to Bloomberg queries. No final decisions have been made, and Walmart “firmly believes” an initial public offering remains an attractive long-term objective for Asda, they said.U.K. antitrust authorities last year blocked Walmart’s plan to combine Asda with Sainsbury in a 7.3 billion-pound ($9.4 billion) deal, saying it would lead to higher prices and less choice for shoppers. Walmart has since been exploring a potential listing of the business.Walmart has brought in partners for some other international businesses. In China, it bought a stake in e-commerce operator JD.com Inc. in 2016 and folded its own online marketplace into the Beijing-based company’s operations. It sold control of its Brazilian unit to buyout firm Advent International in 2018 and took over Indian online retailer Flipkart in a $16 billion deal.Grocers in the U.K. have been struggling as the more established chains lose customers to discounters like Aldi and Lidl. They’ve been cutting jobs and selling assets to help counter the downturn.Tesco Plc, Britain’s largest grocery chain, is inviting Thai tycoons to the second round of bidding for its operations in Thailand and Malaysia, which could fetch more than $7 billion, Bloomberg News reported this month. Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc expanded its alliance with Amazon.com Inc. last year to offer groceries in more cities across the U.K.Asda’s total sales fell 1.3% in the last three months of 2019 after customers cut back on spending for Christmas. Consumers are “highly budget conscious” and “previously seen trends of growth” are starting to slow, Asda Chief Executive Officer Roger Burnley said this month.(Updates with moves by other U.K. grocers from seventh paragraph. An earlier version of this story corrected the description of the size stake being sold in the third paragraph)\--With assistance from Deirdre Hipwell.To contact the reporters on this story: Dinesh Nair in London at dnair5@bloomberg.net;David Hellier in London at dhellier@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Scent at bscent@bloomberg.net, Eric PfannerFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Zacks
Is Amazon's Cashierless Store a Tough Competitor of Walmart?
With its newly-opened cashierless supermarket in Seattle, Amazon is not only challenging traditional checkouts but also the American grocery bigwigs to up their game in the grocery industry.
- American City Business Journals
Target joins ranks of top-10 e-commerce retailers
Target’s online business has increased enough to put it among the top-10 U.S. e-commerce retailers while Macy’s and the parent company of the Home Shopping Network dropped further down the list, per an annual study by market research company eMarketer. “At a time when brick-and-mortar stores are struggling to keep up with the fast-changing retail landscape, Target seems to have hit the bullseye,” eMarketer forecasting analyst Cindy Liu said. Despite climbing from number 11 to 8th in the ranking, Target (NYSE: TGT) still has just a 1.2 percent share of total U.S. retail e-commerce sales, compared with number-one ranked Amazon’s 38.7 percent, up from 37.3 percent in 2019.
- TheStreet.com
[video]Amazon and Walmart Have Unique Strengths in Their Grocery Fight
The opening of Amazon's first cashierless supermarket highlights one of its competitive strengths. But Walmart has a major strength of its own.
- Financial Times
Walmart in talks over sale of Asda stake
Walmart has entered talks with private equity firms regarding the sale of a stake in its UK supermarket chain Asda, although a stock market flotation remains the US retailer’s preferred option. “Together, we are in discussions with a small number of interested parties who share Walmart and Asda’s commitment and passion to growing the business,” the companies said in a statement. at the Leeds-based chain last May that the US company was actively considering an IPO for Asda.
- Bloomberg
Amazon Opens Larger Go Grocery Store in Hometown Seattle
(Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc. is taking aim at the urban grocery market with a larger version of its cashierless Go convenience store.The company on Tuesday opened the first Go Grocery, located in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, not far from the online retailer’s headquarters. The store is about five times the size of a typical Amazon Go -- meaning it can accommodate shopping carts -- and carries baked goods, meat, produce and household items.Amazon is betting a frictionless checkout experience will help it grab a bigger share of the $800 billion U.S. grocery market, now dominated by Walmart Inc.The Go Grocery stocks about 5,000 items, compared with 500 to 700 in a typical Go store, said Cameron Janes, who oversees the Go project along with several other brick-and-mortar experiments. The selection includes non-food staples like paper towels and laundry detergent but stops well short of the array offered at a traditional grocery store. Amazon’s Whole Foods markets carry tens of thousands of products.Like existing Amazon convenience stores in Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco and New York, Go Grocery uses cameras and sensors track people and what they take off the shelf. Shoppers are charged when they exit. But unlike the early stores, the new format has updated versions of the system that can identify produce without wrappers for each apple, cabbage or pineapple. That makes stocking easier and lowers costs in an industry with notoriously tight margins.“We can pretty much handle everything” stocked by a regular grocer, Janes said of the latest technology.During a tour, he showed off grab-and-go food, coffee and baked goods from local purveyors. The store uses the same meat suppliers as the Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service, he said, and shares some organic produce and fish suppliers with Whole Foods. Unlike the high-end organic grocer, Go Grocery stocks items like Coca-Cola and Big League Chew bubble gum.Amazon leased the retail space at 610 E. Pike Street in Seattle several years ago with the intention of using it for the first Go store. Given a broad mandate to shake up physical retail, the Go team originally planned to build a checkout-free supermarket, complete with a butcher, cheesemonger and coffee bar.Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos toured a prototype store in late 2015 and said it could confuse customers. Instead, he asked the team to focus on refining the people-tracking technology and checkout experience. Go opened to the public three years later as a convenience store in Amazon’s headquarters, and the original space sat empty -- until now.The new Seattle store won’t be Amazon’s last new take on grocery shopping this year. In Los Angeles, the company is preparing the first in a new line of grocery stores, with traditional checkout counters but distinct from the Whole Foods chain.Amazon is also weighing other Go formats and potentially licensing the technology to other companies, Bloomberg reported last year. Blueprints filed in Washington, D.C. suggest a Go Grocery is coming to the nation’s capital, too.Janes didn’t comment on plans for future stores but said the new Go Grocery will target apartment dwellers rather than the office workers the existing Go stores mostly serve.“This is our first one,” Janes said. “I think we’re going to learn and see where they’re going to work; high-density residential areas is where we’re starting.”(Updates that the store has now opened.)To contact the reporter on this story: Matt Day in Seattle at mday63@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Robin Ajello at rajello@bloomberg.net, Andrew PollackFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
Home Depot Delivers But Can't Get Comfortable
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Who would have thought power tools and patio sets would be big holiday-season winners?After big-box retailers such as Walmart Inc. and even superstar Target Corp. came up short during the 2019 holiday shopping sprint, Home Depot Inc. rebounded with a better-than-expected fourth quarter. Same-store sales rose 5.2%, ahead of consensus expectations of a 4.7% gain.The gains indicate the home-improvement chain is back on track after a third-quarter stumble. Then, same store sales were below estimates, and growth was slow enough to prompt the company to cut its full-year guidance on this measure. A strong housing market helped in the latest quarter. Consumers are more likely to renovate when prices are rising; moving to a new home also is a catalyst for spending. Meanwhile, warm weather prompted some projects to be brought forward, although this was offset by fewer winter storms, which typically drive repairs. Lumber deflation also eased. The upbeat results are also a sign that an $11 billion effort it announced in 2017 to modernize the company’s stores, upgrade digital options and enhance offerings for its key trade customers is starting to bear fruit.Home Depot is right to invest. Do-it-yourself stores can be soulless sheds if not updated regularly and managed properly. What’s more, the focus on the trade market is sensible. Many consumers, particularly young people, are shunning DIY in favor of “do-it-for-me” – hiring a tradesman to carry out a job. But the group needs to ensure the benefits of its spending continue to filter through to its results.And there are risks. The first is from the deadly coronavirus. About 70% of the company’s products are sourced from the U.S.; the rest come from elsewhere, much from China, where supply chains are being affected by the spread of the disease. A large amount of first-quarter merchandise is already in stores, and the company is working with suppliers to ensure a continued flow of stocks.The bigger danger, however, is that the epidemic has a broader effect on global economic growth and consumer confidence. Monday’s stock market plunge will do little to make Americans feel good about their wealth, something that is essential for purchasing expensive items such as new kitchen. Meanwhile, Lowe’s Cos. — which is working on its own renovation project under new chief executive Marvin Ellison —could become a more muscular rival.Investors seem to be shrugging off these concerns right now. The shares rose almost 2 percent on Tuesday morning, and now trade on a forward price earnings ratio of about 23 times, a premium to about 18 times for Lowe’s.Home Depot may have put its rough patch behind it. But at its current valuation, the risks can’t be swept entirely under a graphic print rug.To contact the author of this story: Andrea Felsted at afelsted@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Beth Williams at bewilliams@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.Andrea Felsted is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the consumer and retail industries. She previously worked at the Financial Times.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Zacks
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Walmart, Home Depot, Macy's, TJX and Best Buy
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Walmart, Home Depot, Macy's, TJX and Best Buy
- Yahoo Finance
Home Depot quarterly earnings beat estimates, shares rise in pre-market trading
Home Depot earnings are out. Here is what you need to know.
Yahoo Finance VideoBest Buy warns of profit, sales hit due to coronavirus disruption
Best Buy beat the street’s expectation on both top and bottom lines, but issued a new warning on the coronavirus. Moody’s Lead Retail Analyst Charlie O’Shea joins Yahoo Finance’s Seana Smith to discuss.
